The present invention relates to snowboard bindings, and more particularly to release mechanisms allowing a snowboarder to rotate a snowboard binding without the snowboarder having to release its boot from the binding.
Snowboarding is a popular winter sport. Snowboarders board down a snow covered mountain on a snowboard with boots affixed in snowboard bindings.
Two types of bindings are commonly used in snowboarding: the high-back strapped binding and a strapless step-in binding. The high-back strapped binding is characterized by a vertical plastic back piece which is used to apply pressure to the heel-side of the board. This binding has two straps which go over the foot, with one strap holding down the heel and the other holding down the toe. Some high-backs also have a third strap on the vertical back piece called a shin strap which gives additional support and aids in toe side turns. The strapless step-in binding is used with a hard shell boot much like a ski binding except it is non-releasable. With both types of bindings, a typically bottom plate is provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, bottom plate 62, 66 is provided with screw slots in a standard configuration. Similarly, snowboards typically come provided with four screw-receiving holes matching up to these binding screw slots, as shown in FIG. 1 at 14. The bindings are attached to the snowboard with four screws inserted in these screw slots.
Snowboard boot bindings are normally screwed onto the snowboard in a permanent orientation which is almost perpendicular to the direction of travel of the snowboard. When a snowboarder reaches the bottom of a run, the rear boot is typically released from its binding to allow the snowboarder to propel himself forward across relatively flat snow. Because the front foot in the snowboard binding is at an angle to forward motion, the snowboarder experiences discomfort and tension on his leg, knee, and foot joints. Having the front boot nearly perpendicular to the snowboard with the snowboard and back foot moving straight forward is very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous because a fall in this orientation may injure the ankle or knee joints of the snowboarder. If the snowboarder releases his front boot from the binding, the snowboarder is relegated to walking, carrying his board. Further more it is difficult to mount a chair lift with one foot on the board at an angle to the forward direction of the board, and on a chair lift having the foot nearly perpendicular to the snowboard causes the snowboard to be positioned across the front of the chair which is an awkward orientation for mounting and is disturbing or damaging to anyone seated on an adjacent chair.
The use of rotatable boot binding mechanisms is known in the prior art. More specifically, rotatable boot binding mechanisms heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of allowing rotation of a boot binding with respect to a snowboard are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
A number of devices have provided rotatable snowboard bindings, but lack the improved performance and ease of adjustability of the present invention. Presently known art attempts to address this problem, but has not completely solved the problem. The following represents a list of known related art:
The teachings of each of the above-listed citations (which does not itself incorporate essential material by reference) are herein incorporated by reference. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,325 to Acuna teaches an adjustable snowboard binding. In the reference the foot remains in the binding, and binding can be locked into a selected angular position using one or more hand manipulated levers. The boot binding itself is the rotation device. Boot must be unstrapped and removed to adjust the position. The boot holding device is built into the disclosed binding-the boot is inserted the binding.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,578 to Patterson discloses a snowboard latching mechanism which requires the snowboarder to bend over and with both hands to radially pull outward on handles of boot binding to remove element from notches in binding, and then to rotate the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,430, to Reynolds discloses a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding, wherein the snowboarder bends down and releases a lever which allows the foot in the boot in the binding to be moved angularly in relation to the snowboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,402, to Tanaka discloses a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding in which the boot must be removed, and then the twist locking mechanism manually operated to rotate the binding to desired rotation settings, and then the boot is reinserted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,779, to Dawes et al. teaches a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding which includes a screw locking mechanism wherein the screw is screwed into the threaded hole in the binding mount plate, and the mechanism consists of a centrally disposed spring loaded plunger. Dawes claims an adjustable snowboard boot binding apparatus which is rotatably adjustable xe2x80x9con the flyxe2x80x9d without removing the boot from the binding and is compatible with existing snowboard boot bindings. A central hub is attached to the board and a top binding mounting plate and bottom circular rotating plate are interconnected and sandwich the hub between them, so that the binding plate and circular plate rotate on a bearing between the binding plate and the central hub. A spring-loaded plunger lock mechanism locks the binding plate to the central hub in a series of holes in the hub. Alternately, gear teeth on the hub may interact with a plunger to lock the device. Several other locking devices are shown.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,068, to Donovan describes a quick-action adjustable snowboard boot binding comprising a support plate to which a conventional boot binding is mounted. The support plate is fixedly attached to a circular swivel plate which rotates, via a center bearing, relative to a base plate attached to the board. Donovan discloses a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding in which a handle is pivotally mounted on a bracket which is connected to a yoke, which is attached to a flexible cable which, when tightened, prevents the binding from moving. The handle is mounted on a plate below the boot binding. A person must bend down and loosen, and bend down and tighten. A cable encircles a groove in the swivel plate and a handle pivots up to release the cable for adjusting the angle of the swivel plate and pivots down to tighten the swivel plate at a desired angle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,749, issued to Eglitis et al. teaches a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding to allow the snowboarder to align his boot with the direction of travel. The snowboarder must bend down and manually grasp a pull ring under the binding and pull outwardly, compressing a spring in the latching mechanism until the locking member disengages from a locking notch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,554 issued to Linton discloses a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding to allow a snowboarder to rotate his boot in relation to the snowboard. The disclosed device utilizes a cable around an outer surface of a floating clamp. A specific boot binding must be used. The cable operates through use of a lever. The snowboarder must bend down to flip the lever to engage or disengage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,630, issued to Perkins et al. discloses a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding to allow a snowboarder to rotate the boot binding relative to the snowboard. The latching mechanism works through a tie down bolt that must be unscrewed to allow rotation of the boot binding relative to the board. Rotation is done without the foot in the binding.
U.S. Pat. No. Re. 36,800, to Vetter et al. discloses a latching mechanism for releasing a boot binding from a board. The reference discloses bending over and manually lifting up a latch bind held under a spring bias, rotating the foot, and thus disengaging from the board. The reference discloses a quick release for the back foot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,088 to Vetter et al. discloses a coupling for releasably mounting a boot with boot binding to a turntable ring which is adjustably secured to a snowboard. A spring loaded pin with a long cord is the locking mechanism. Vetter does not disclose a secure screw-type up and down locking device, a retrofit capability, a large diameter roller bearing, an elevated lock ring to prevent icing, a central guide post for ease of alignment during assembly, a positive engagement safety device to limit the degree of rotatability during free rotation, a spring rotation control, or an easy grasp elevated T-shaped lock handle for use with gloves or mittens.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,358 to Hale et al. discloses a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding to allow a snowboarder to rotate his boot while bound to the snowboard, in relation to the snowboard. The reference teaches a base plate, a binding plate, and a hold down disk, wherein the binding plate swivels in relation to the snowboard, the base plate and the hold down disk. A dual lever system is provided on the binding plate, on either side of the boot binding, the rotation of the levers engages and disengages a locking element which engages and disengages the binding plate to effectuate the rotatabilty.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,837 to Hale et al. illustrates a swivelable mount for a snowboard having a rotatable binding plate attached to a circular plate which rotates in a circular groove of a base plate secured to the snowboard. A handle with a cam and spring-loaded pin secures the binding plate at a desired angle. Hale does not disclose a secure screw-type up and down locking device, a retrofit capability, a large diameter roller bearing, an elevated lock ring to prevent icing, a central guide post for ease of alignment during assembly, a positive engagement safety device to limit the degree of rotatability during free rotation, a spring rotation control, or an easy grasp elevated T-shaped lock handle for use with gloves or mittens.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,051 issued to Sabol discloses a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding that allows the snowboarder to rotate the binding in relation to the snowboard. The reference teaches a T-handle screw-type lock which can be secured in the up or down position, an elevated lock ring to prevent icing, and a control guide post for ease of alignment. The snowboarder in operation must bend down and grab the xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d shaped lock handle to change the degree of rotation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,584,492, 5,782,476, and 5,868,416, issued to Fardie disclose a latching mechanism for a snowboard boot binding that allows the snowboarder to rotate the binding in relation to the snowboard. Single or dual levers are actuated to allow rotatability, and to secure the binding from rotation. The levers actuate a band which slides into and out of toothed segments in the binding platform. Fardie provides an adjustable snowboard binding assembly which can be rotatably controlled. The snowboard mounting platforms each have a plurality of inwardly facing radial teeth along the circumference of a centralized circular cutout, the bottom of which rests on four quadrant segments connected to a stainless steel band which moves along a groove in the center of the board activated by a lever. The mounting platform can rotate relative to the four quadrant segments and is locked in place at a desired angle by two spring loaded sliding segments with mating teeth to engage the teeth on the mounting platform to lock it in place at a desired angle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,216 to Ratzek shows a fastening disk that can be clamped upon a binding-support plate that can be turned about a normal axis to the board. Several bolts must be loosened somewhat to allow the rotational position of the binding plate to be changed, then the bolts must be re-tightened.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,689 to Carpenter et al. shows a number of bolts through a hold-down plate for a rotatable binding-support plate must be loosened and then re-tightened in order to change the binding orientation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,654 to Meyer shows a system in which a single central bolt must be loosened and re-tightened.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,635 to Gillis shows a water skiboard with rotatably adjustable bindings; however, it appears that such mechanism is not adequate for use in the snowboarding environment. It is also noted that the above-mentioned prior devices in their structure and design, do not lend themselves to relatively inexpensive, lightweight, low-profile, bindings mounts that are desirable by those enthusiasts who desire to enhance their snowboarding performance capabilities.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,837 to Hale et al. shows an improved snowboard binding support with quick and effective swivelable adjustment capability; however, there remains a need for such a product that has unique structural features that will lend it to easy and efficient fabrication as well as having superior strength, durability, and reliability in the face of the high stresses encountered during normal rigorous use of a snowboard.
Still other features would be desirable in an apparatus for allowing rotation of a snowboard boot binding while the boot is in the binding. For example, to be able to adjust rotation angle of the boot binding with the boot in the binding without the need to bend down, it would be desirable if the snowboarder did not have to bend over, and could merely reach is hand to his knee to grab a tether. In addition, to use the greatest selection of snowboards and boot bindings, it would be desirable to have a rotation apparatus which could easily attach to a large selection of snowboards and to which a large selection of boot bindings could easily be attached. Further, to create ease in angular adjustment of the boot binding in relation to the snowboard, it would be desirable to increase the ease by which the boot could be turned on the rotation apparatus in relation to the snowboard. In addition, to increase stability while riding the snowboard, it would be desirable to have the rotation apparatus attach to the snowboard such that the center of the rotation apparatus is attached, rather than attaching the rotation apparatus around its periphery. Further, to allow the greatest flexibility in choice of snowboards and boot bindings, it would be desirable to have a rotation apparatus which could be attached by the untrained individual using only tools generally available in the home.
Thus, while the foregoing body of art indicates it to be well known to have a boot binding that is rotatable in relation to a snowboard, and which may be angularly adjusted while the boot is in the boot binding, the art described above does not teach or suggest a snowboard binding plate rotation apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) allows the snowboarder to rotate the snowboard boot binding in relation to the snowboard without removing his boot from the boot binding; (2) allows the snowboarder to rotate the snowboard boot binding by simply pulling upon a tether attached to his or her leg and turning his or her boot; (3) can be attached to a great variety of boot bindings in the commercial market place, allowing the user a great selection of different boot bindings, such as strapped boot bindings and step-in boot bindings; (4) can easily be attached to snowboards, allowing the snowboarder to choose among commercially available snowboards; (5) can easily attach to boot bindings, allowing the snowboarder to choose among commercially available boot bindings; (6) is easy to manufacture with a relatively limited number of parts; (7) has a base that rotates in relation to the snowboard with the boot binding attached to the base, as opposed to existing techniques wherein the base remains fixed, and the boot binding rotates in relation to the base; and (8) can be attached to a snowboard and a boot binding with tools easily available in the home, and without the need of a trained alpine technician.
The snowboard rotatable binding conversion apparatus of the present invention is inserted between a snowboard and a boot binding to render the boot binding rotatable in relation to the snowboard. The snowboard rotatable binding conversion apparatus includes a base, an engaging plate attachable to a snowboard, which sits upon and within the base and has engaging slots around the perimeter of the engaging plate, a top plate attachable to a boot binding, which sits upon and within the base and over the engaging plate sandwiching the engaging plate between the top plate and the base, an engaging element within a slot in the base which engages an engaging slot in an engaging plate, an engaging bar which sits within an engaging bar slot in the base and movably secures the engaging element to the base, a tension bar that sits within a tension bar slot in the base and inserts through and provides tension to the engaging element, a tether attachable to the engaging element, and a plurality of screws and screw-receiving holes to attach the engaging bar to the base, the engaging plate to the snowboard, and the top plate to the base.
The snowboard rotatable binding conversion apparatus attaches to a snowboard and to a boot binding. The snowboarder can choose from a number of commercially available boot bindings and snow boards to be connected to the present invention. This allows the snowboarder to have great flexibility and choice in selecting both his board, as well as his particular boot binding.
The snowboard rotatable binding conversion apparatus of the present invention presents numerous advantages, including: (1) snowboarder may rotate the snowboard boot binding in relation to the snowboard without removing his boot from the boot binding; (2) the rotation can be accomplished without bending down to the ground to operate any leversxe2x80x94the snowboarder can simply pull up on a tether attached to his leg; (3) useable with a number of boot bindings, boot bindings can be attached to the present invention, allowing the snowboarder to choose among the great variety of boot bindings present in the commercial market place; (4) easy to attach to boot bindings, allowing the snowboarder to choose among commercially available boot bindings; (5) easy to attach to a snowboard, allowing the snowboarder to have a great selection of snowboards and boot bindings, as mentioned above, from which to select; (6) easy to manufacture with a relatively limited number of parts; (7) advantageous aspect of having a base that the base rotates in relation to the snowboard and the boot binding attaches to the base, as opposed to other art wherein the base remains fixed, and the boot binding rotates in relation to the base; (8) the apparatus can be attached to a snowboard and a boot binding with tools easily available in the home, and without the need of a trained alpine technician.